1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to aircraft and, in particular, to a method and system for depicting flight plan information. Still more particularly, the present disclosure provides a method and system for collecting and depicting important information about current flight plan status during flight.
2. Background
Aircraft generally travel from one airport to another airport using a pre-determined flight plan. Flight plans are generated in advance of a flight, and account for expected weather conditions and air traffic for a particular route. Aircraft use these flight plans to navigate between airports and maintain a desired course of trajectory.
Aircraft flight management systems rely on flight plans for route and destination information. These flight plans are pre-defined and preloaded before a flight into the flight management system. The flight management system is implemented in a flight deck computer of the aircraft. A flight plan will include a required time of arrival for the aircraft at waypoints along the route and the destination.
During flight, an aircraft may encounter a number of conditions that affect the travel time of the aircraft. For example, wind conditions may affect the speed of an aircraft. When a condition affects the travel time of the aircraft, a required time of arrival at a particular waypoint or destination may no longer be met by the aircraft. This results in air traffic delays that are often not realized until the aircraft has reached its destination.
Current flight plans primarily rely on defined airways and navigation waypoints, but air traffic management is moving towards a “free flight” mode that is not limited to fixed airways. To ensure sufficient separation between aircraft in this environment flight plans will become four dimensional (4D) paths. Timing along the route is not as important as arrival time at a destination waypoint with traditional flight paths, but a 4D flight plan requires accurate timing all along the flight path to maintain airspace separation. Current systems are not designed to readily provide situational awareness of actual flight path as compared to a 4D flight plan. It is also important to update 4D flight plans during flight and quickly provide updated situational information to pilots.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have a method and apparatus that addresses one or more of the issues discussed above.